The Effect of Cannabis on Dementia Related Agitation and Aggression

Summary

The most common syndrome in patients with severe dementia is agitated behavior, which is often characterized by a combination of violent behavior (physical or verbal), restlessness, and inappropriate loudness. The treatment options for this syndrome are limited and lead to severe side effects. In vivo experiments on animals and clinical studies on adults show that cannabinoids could have a beneficial effect on behavioral disorders in general, and in dementia-related disorders in particular. Additionally, medical cannabis patients have reported that cannabis aids in pain relief, increased appetite, and a sense of calm and peace of mind. Elderly patients suffering from dementia that experience this syndrome could also benefit from other quality of life aspects of the cannabis treatment such as reduction in medication consumption, weight gain and improvement of sleep.

Timeline

Start

2017-12-07

Primary completion

2019-08-18

Completion

2019-08-18

Publications

• Hermush V, Ore L, Stern N, Mizrahi N, Fried M, Krivoshey M, Staghon E, Lederman VE, Bar-Lev Schleider L. Effects of rich cannabidiol oil on behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia: A placebo controlled randomized clinical trial. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Sep 6;9:951889. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.951889. eCollection 2022.
• Bosnjak Kuharic D, Markovic D, Brkovic T, Jeric Kegalj M, Rubic Z, Vuica Vukasovic A, Jeroncic A, Puljak L. Cannabinoids for the treatment of dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 17;9(9):CD012820. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012820.pub2.
• Solomon HV, Greenstein AP, DeLisi LE. Cannabis Use in Older Adults: A Perspective. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2021 May-Jun 01;29(3):225-233. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000289.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.